Website provides new maps and data on Okanagan flooding

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Sears said the website is the culmination of two years of flood mapping in the valley.

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“It’s very clear that through state-of-the-art modelling that the potential for flooding is increasing with climate change. These maps are the first step in understanding and reducing our flood risk,” Sears added.

In addition to the new flood maps, the website has historical information on flooding in the Okanagan, how climate change is affecting flooding, as well as how residents and local government can reduce risk, prepare, respond, recover, and more.

“It’s definitely something we all need to pay attention to, as local government and as residents – we need to address this together,” Sue McKortoff, OBWB chair and mayor of Osoyoos, said. “As we like to say at the OBWB, we are all part of ‘One valley. One water.’ What happens in one part of the valley, affects the next. And we all have a responsibility as Okanagan residents to build flood resilience.”

McKortoff said having updated mapping, and concrete information that says ‘here are the best practices,’ will help residents make the right decisions, as well as local governments and even provincial and federal officials.

Sears said the new maps will inform how lakes are managed by the province, and can assist local governments determine where dikes, roads or bridges need to be reinforced, and where building codes need to be updated to reduce property damage.

“As the weather warms, and as mountain snow melts and we head into the Okanagan’s freshet season, the roll-out of this project couldn’t be more timely. We hope people will find the website and the information it contains useful,” Sears added.

The project was made possible with $2.5 million in funding for LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and flood mapping. LiDAR funding was provided by Emergency Management BC (EMBC). Flood mapping was funded by EMBC, Public Safety Canada under the National Disaster Mitigation Program, and from the Province of B.C. administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities under the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.

The project was managed by the Okanagan Basin Water Board and supported by the Regional Districts of North Okanagan, Central Okanagan and Okanagan-Similkameen, and the Government of B.C., and was undertaken by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd.

Numerous local and First Nation governments also supported the project: Okanagan Nation Alliance, City of Armstrong, Township of Spallumcheen, City of Vernon, District of Coldstream, District of Lake Country, City of Kelowna, City of West Kelowna, District of Peachland, District of Summerland, City of Penticton, Town of Oliver, Town of Osoyoos, Splatsin First Nation, Okanagan Indian Band, Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band and Osoyoos Indian Band.